The Anglican Right

ic ^ | September 8, 2009 | Rev. Dwight Longenecker

[NYer]

 

In the late 1970s, a group of Episcopal clergymen with typical American chutzpah wrote to Pope Paul VI. They said they wanted to become Catholics, and wished for their priestly ministry to be fulfilled by being ordained as Catholic priests. The only problem was that they had wives and children.

 

Paul VI received their petition, and they heard nothing. In the autumn of 1978, the pope died; then another pope died, and John Paul II took charge. The little group of Episcopal priests waited with crossed fingers and bated breath while Rome made a decision. In 1980 they finally had an answer: A procedure was to be established whereby former Episcopal priests could be ordained as Catholic priests, even if they were married. Individual bishops would apply to a papal delegate for a dispensation from the vow of celibacy, and after suitable training the Episcopal priests could be ordained as fully functioning Catholic priests.

 

Since 1983, about 75 married former Episcopalian priests have been ordained in the United States. When the Anglican Church was splitting over women's ordination in the early 1990s, the English Catholic bishops also appealed to Rome for permission to ordain married former Anglicans. Permission was granted, and the English bishops set up their own procedure. No one is certain of the exact numbers, but since the early 1990s about 600 former Anglican priests have been ordained in England, of whom about 150 are married. Married former Anglican priests have also been ordained in Scotland and in Spain.

 

 

Who's In and Who's Out?

 

Rev. William Stetson is the priest who assists Archbishop John Myers of Newark in administering the Pastoral Provision. I asked him why, if Anglican orders are null and void, Episcopalians and Anglicans get special treatment. Why couldn't a married Baptist minister convert be ordained as a Catholic priest? Father Stetson explained that there is a special situation for men from the Anglican communion -- not because their orders are more acceptable, but because their priestly experience, theological training, and spiritual formation is closer to Catholicism.

 

Indeed, married converts from other denominations have been accepted for ordination as well. Jim Anderson of the Coming Home Network reports that in the United States, Catholic men who came into full communion from the Lutheran, United Methodist, Presbyterian, Charismatic Episcopal, and Continuing Anglican churches have also been ordained as Catholic priests. Dom Bartholomew Leon, O.S.B., pastor of the Maronite congregation in Greenville, South Carolina, observes that the Eastern Rite churches have had married priests for ages, and that the exception for former Anglicans doesn't seem so unusual for them.

 

So what's up? Is Rome changing the celibacy discipline by stealth? Are the Vatican officials testing the water to see how married priests work before they make a wholesale change? Not really. The truth, as G. K. Chesterton observes, is often just what it seems. There's no conspiracy. Rome is not changing the celibacy rule. It is simply making an exception to Church discipline in order to encourage Christians who are separated from full communion to "come home to Rome." If you like, Rome is sending a very practical message to Anglicans: "We are willing to be flexible and do everything possible to facilitate your journey home." Linked with this explanation is a proper concern for evangelization: Rome hopes the Anglicans who come in will continue to be an example and minister to other Christians who seek full communion with the ancient Church of the apostles.

 

 

It's Our Rite!

 

When the Pastoral Provision was first established in 1980, permission for married Protestant pastors to be ordained was only part of the plan. In addition to allowing married Episcopal priests to be ordained, Rome set up a program for whole parishes to come into the Catholic Church. Not only could their married ministers be ordained, but congregations of former Episcopalians were permitted to worship according to their own traditions.

 

The provision for their own liturgy is sometimes called the Anglican Rite. To be precise, it's really the Anglican Usage of the Roman Rite. This is to distinguish it from the Eastern Rite churches like the Maronites, Melkites, and Malabars that enjoy union with Rome with not only their own liturgy, but their own hierarchy as well. The Anglican Usage remains part of the Latin Rite, since the English were historically part of the Latin Church. Their unusual liturgy is simply one form of the liturgy authorized for use in the Latin Church.

 

The Anglican Use parishes use the Book of Divine Worship,which is based on the 16th-century Book of Common Prayer written by Thomas Cranmer. The Book of Divine Worship is a total resource for former Anglicans. Cranmer's version of the Psalms is retained, and traditional Anglican services like Morning and Evening Prayer are authorized for use. In the liturgy of the Eucharist, most of Cranmer's memorable and beautiful prayers are retained, but placed in the correct order and subjected to the doctrinal demands of Catholic liturgy. Anglican Use priests celebrate the Mass facing the altar; communicants kneel to receive the Eucharist; and they claim that their liturgy is a faithful 16th-century translation of the Latin Mass.

 

A look at the Book of Divine Worship makes one realize that a huge amount of effort and concern has gone into the production of a way forward for troubled Episcopalians. Has there been a huge positive response? Not so far. Only seven Anglican Use parishes have been established. Of these, only a few are thriving. Our Lady of the Atonement in San Antonio and Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston have both built new churches and are supported by growing congregations. The other Anglican Use parishes either worship in existing Catholic parishes or exist as small missions.

 

 

A Lost Cause?

 

The most recent Anglican Use congregation is theSociety of St. Thomas More in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Made up of about 20 families and their former Episcopal pastor, Rev. Eric Bergman, the members of the society left the Episcopal Church and were received into full communion by Rev. Charles Connor, the pastor of St. Peter's cathedral, in October 2005. Since then, Father Bergman has been ordained, and the congregation worships according to the Anglican Use in St. Clare's Church.

 

Father Bergman explained why there has been so little take-up of the Anglican Use so far: For an Anglican Use parish to be established, an Episcopal priest has to convert with a good number of his congregation. They have to step out in faith together, without a building and without financial support for their married priest. After converting, they have to wait for permission from Rome for their priest to be ordained. Because of the difficulties involved, some congregations have wanted to become Anglican Use parishes but their priest was not willing, and vice versa.

 

A possible new change in the rules promises a more positive response in the future. Father Bergman explained that in November 2006, the leaders of the Anglican Use communities, the Pastoral Provision Office staff, and Archbishop Myers, the ecclesiastical delegate, met to discuss how the Pastoral Provision might be more fully implemented in communities in the United States. Two task forces were created to draw up proposals for Archbishop Myers, who took them to Rome for approval in April 2007.

 

The first proposal concerns raising money for men and groups in transition from Anglicanism to Catholicism. The Anglican Use Society will be used to collect money and will then distribute it in consultation with their bishop. The second suggestion is to create guidelines to match a priest to a group of Anglicans desiring to take advantage of the Pastoral Provision. Through these new guidelines, it is hoped that a priest can be ordained for the Anglican Use, even though he is not affiliated with a particular congregation.

 

 

An Ecclesiastical Eccentricity

 

Not everyone is enthusiastic about these new proposals, however. When given the Anglican Use option, the English Catholic bishops rejected the possibility outright. Most of the former Episcopal priests who have been ordained under the terms of the Pastoral Provision serve as ordinary diocesan priests within the Roman Rite. They simply resigned from the Episcopal Church to join the Catholic mainstream. Many of them perceive the Anglican Use with benign indifference. They see the Book of Divine Worship as a liturgical curiosity, while others regard the whole thing as an unfortunate ecclesiastical eccentricity.

 

The $64,000 question is: Do enough Episcopalians really want their own little churches in communion with Rome that use the old 16th-century liturgy? Father Bergman thinks so. He believes the growth in popularity of the Tridentine Mass indicates a surge in demand for traditional, formal, and beautiful liturgy. In addition to this, the large number of Anglican breakaway churches use some form of the traditional liturgy, and the Anglican Use provides a bridge for them to come into full communion with the Catholic Church.

 

Father Bergman also points out that Anglican Use parishes have become a refuge for cradle Catholics from the stranger liberal liturgical experiments. "The established Anglican Use communities have many cradle Catholics who come to the Anglican Use Mass because they appreciate the beauty of the music, the reverence of the liturgy, and the orthodoxy of the priest," he explains. Rev. Christopher Phillips, the pastor of the Church of the Atonement in San Antonio, reports that about 60 percent of its members are reverts to the Catholic Faith or cradle Catholics who have returned for what they perceive to be a proper liturgy. People who actually converted to Catholicism represent only 40 percent of the large Anglican Use parishes in Texas.

 

Rather than being an ecclesiastical eccentricity, it could be that the Anglican Use parishes will provide a safe haven for shipwrecked Anglicans, as well as a home for Catholics who are refugees from clown Masses, new age rituals, and the whole range of goofy liturgical abuses found within the American Catholic Church.

 

 

Evangelistic and Ecumenical Tool

 

Critics of the Anglican Use argue that the whole thing is a waste of time and energy. If people want to convert to the Catholic Church, let them convert and join their local parish. Why should Episcopalians get special treatment? What's the point?

 

Defenders argue that the Pastoral Provision and Anglican Use parishes are part of a larger ecumenical and evangelistic plan. If the Catholic Church is serious about unity, then she should be making every effort possible to reconcile different groups in a multitude of different ways. The Anglican Use, they say, is a tool for evangelization and reconciliation.

 

The Anglican Use "bridge" is not only a way across the Tiber for Episcopalians; there are an increasing number of Anglican and Episcopal breakaway churches. To date, there are nearly 100 independent Anglican denominations. As the worldwide Anglican communion goes into meltdown, there is a real possibility that whole provinces of the Anglican Church will break away. Could a breakaway denomination or a whole Anglican province convert and use the Pastoral Provision and Anglican Use in order to come into full communion with Rome?

 

Father Bergman explained that the Pastoral Provision can only be fully instituted in those countries where the national conference of Catholic bishops approves its implementation. So far, only the United States conference has done so. Some moves are being made for bishops' conferences in other English-speaking countries to do the same, and there is a dream that the growth of the Anglican Use will one day justify the creation of a personal prelature or an apostolic administration.

 

If this were to take place, there could be a real opportunity for Anglican Use parishes to exist in many places around the world where the Anglican communion now has a presence. Some Anglican provinces in Africa and Asia are both Anglo-Catholic and orthodox in doctrine, and such an option may very well be a way forward as they seek to disentangle themselves from the irreformably liberal Anglican regimes of Canterbury and New York.

 

 

A Society, a Network, and a Conference with a Cause

 

Despite pulling the word "Protestant" from their name 30 years ago, the vast majority of the Episcopal Church of the United States is Protestant through and through. They don't object to the Catholic Church these days with the old cry of "No popery!" Nor do they react against Catholicism because they hold to Protestant doctrine. They object to Rome now because Rome is against feminism, homosexuality, and the dictatorship of relativism. Most Episcopalians are far from the banks of the Tiber, but there are still many faithful Episcopalians who are distressed by the direction their church has taken and who do not wish to move sideways into one of the many Episcopalian splinter groups.

 

Why are these priests and people so slow to investigate the Anglican Use option? It could be that part of the problem is a lack of publicity and promotion. Faithful Episcopalians still have many questions and problems about Catholic faith and practice. They have many prejudices and concerns about what it means to be Catholic in the 21st century. A place for them to discuss their concerns is vitally needed.

 

One of the forums available is the Coming Home Network. In 1993, former Presbyterian minister Marcus Grodi founded a small apostolate to tend to fellow Protestant ministers whose faith pilgrimage was bringing them close to the Catholic Church. The Coming Home Network has grown enormously since then, thanks to Grodi's successful program on EWTN. The greatest portion of clergy converts it deals with are Episcopalians. Grodi's organization offers books, resources, and personal mentoring from others who have already made the journey. It also offers assistance and advice as clergymen give up their livelihood to come into full communion with the Catholic Church.

 

Coming Home Network's older sister is the English-based St. Barnabas Society. Founded at the end of the 19th century, when a large number of Anglican clergymen were coming into the Catholic Church, the St. Barnabas Society offers pastoral and financial support to convert clergy and their families. As an established English charity, its scope is not yet international, but its leadership is aware of the Anglican Use and follows the developments with interest.

 

In Pennsylvania, Father Bergman has taken the call to evangelization seriously and has started an annual conference on the Anglican Use. The first conference (in 2006) attracted 120 participants, 40 of whom were clergy. The theme was "Conversion to Catholicism," and the late-Avery Cardinal Dulles, himself a convert, was the key-note speaker.

 

The conferences offer Episcopalians a chance to network, as well as the opportunity to meet people and clergy who have taken the step toward Rome. Episcopalians will gain encouragement as they speak with those who have blazed the trail, and will begin to see the move as a viable option.

 

Father Bergman says that the numbers are growing, and there are more men following this path every year. The Anglican Use is part of the overall movement toward Rome. "Everywhere an Anglican Use community is established it reconciles many to the Church." He calls on the Catholic faithful to be open to this unusual new development, to let others know about the Pastoral Provision, and to be generous in donations to help more Anglican priests take the courageous step to be reconciled to the Catholic Church.

 

 

Foundation or Footnote?

 

The Pastoral Provision has been in existence for 25 years. Since then, only a handful of Anglican Use parishes have been established, and the number of married Episcopal priests to be ordained is currently less than 100.

 

Is this really a movement to be reckoned with? Is it the stroke of genius that it seems? Have these first 25 years been a time of quiet foundation-building for a great tidal wave of Anglican clergy and laity into the Catholic Church, or is the whole movement just an interesting idea promoted by a few eccentric enthusiasts?

 

Much depends on the success of the newly reformed and updated Pastoral Provision Office -- whether it will continue to be proactive in promoting the Pastoral Provision; whether it will be able to publicize and encourage this creative option successfully, along with committed men like Father Bergman; whether it receives support from the conferences of bishops and the Vatican; and whether it will be given the resources to reach out confidently to the various Anglican groups worldwide.

 

If so, what it has done so far may well be a solid foundation for an exciting development in the Catholic Church's relationship with worldwide Anglicanism. If not, the Anglican Use will become merely an interesting footnote in the history of ecumenism.

[NYer]

---

Rev. Dwight Longenecker was ordained through the Pastoral Provision in December 2006 and serves as chaplain to St. Joseph's Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina, and as weekend assistant in the parish of St. Mary's, Greenville. He is the author of multiple books on conversion and the Catholic Faith. Contact him at www.dwightlongenecker.com.

[NYer]

Ping!

[La Lydia]

Sigh. I just can’t get my mind around married priests. Call me a fuddy-duddy. But if the Vatican wants to ordain them, fine with me. So be it. I would find it very odd.

[Radl]

I went to a Maronite church to get the Catholic experience. From what I understand the priests from this rite can marry but not in the U.S. I might be wrong on this but that is what I understood. I heard the priest, who was saying mass, was headed to Lebanon to get msrried. Regardless, even though I was an outsider it was a very beautiful service.

[NYer]

I went to a Maronite church to get the Catholic experience. From what I understand the priests from this rite can marry but not in the U.S. I might be wrong on this but that is what I understood.

I am a Roman Catholic practicing my faith in a Maronite Catholic Church. Which one did you attend?

As for married priests, Lydia, it is the tradition in the Eastern Catholic Churches to allow accept married men into the priesthood, but only after a scrupulous investigation of the individual and his family. It is also the tradition in the Maronite Church, not to send married priests to the diasporra (i.e. outside of Lebanon). My pastor is celibate but the inspiration for his calling to serve as a priest came from his great-grandfather who was a married priest.

On a recent occasion, I pressed him on this topic. He explained that here in the west, it would be impossible for the Latin (i.e. Roman Catholic) Church to lift the ban on celibacy because of societal constraints. Here, more than half of all marriages end in divorce, whereas in Lebanon, the Sacrament of Marriage is still cherished as a sacred and indissoluble bond. It would be scandalous to have a married priest request a divorce from his wife.

The issue extends beyond that, as well. In October of 2005, the Patriarch of the Maronite Church, Mar Nasrallah Pierre Cardinal Sfeir was asked to address this topic at the 11th General Synod of Fathers, held in the Vatican. Here is the news report.

Maronite Rite Cardinal defends, praises celibate priesthood, but admits can create other serious problems
Oct 15, 2005
Speaking to the 11th General Synod Fathers, gathered for their eighth meeting this morning at the Vatican, Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, who is Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon--a Catholic rite which allows for married priests--addressed the issue, which has been brought up by many, particularly in light of the U.S. sex abuse scandal, of commonly permitting married priests in the Roman rite.

Vatican City, Oct. 07, 2005 (CNA) - The Cardinal defended the practice of the celibate priesthood and discussed the beauty of the tradition, calling it the "most precious jewel in the treasury of the Catholic Church."

While pointing out that "the Maronite Church admits married priests" and that "half of our diocesan priests are married", the Cardinal Patriarch said that "it must be recognized that if admitting married men resolves one problem, it creates others just as serious."

"A married priest", he said, "has the duty to look after his wife and family, ensuring his children receive a good education and overseeing their entry into society. ... Another difficulty facing a married priest arises if he does not enjoy a good relationship with his parishioners; his bishop cannot transfer him because of the difficulty of transferring his whole family.

He noted that "married priests have perpetuated the faith among people whose difficult lives they shared, and without them this faith would no longer exist."

"On the other hand," he said, "celibacy is the most precious jewel in the treasury of the Catholic Church,"

Lamenting a culture which is all but outright opposed to purity, the Cardinal asked: "How can [celibacy] be conserved in an atmosphere laden with eroticism? Newspapers, Internet, billboards, shows, everything appears shameless and constantly offends the virtue of chastity."

Suggesting that their are no easy solutions to the problem of priest shortages in the Church--an oft brought up point during the Synod--he noted that, "Of course a priest, once ordained, can no longer get married. Sending priests to countries where they are lacking, taking them from a country that has many, is not the ideal solution if one bears in mind the question of tradition, customs and mentality. The problem remains."

As more and more formerly Protestant ministers are accepted into the Catholic Church, some have found that bringing along a family also poses dilemmas. The following article was posted to the forum 3 years ago.

Married Priests Back Celibacy (Part 1 of 2)

Ultimately, the issue of a married priesthood is quite small. There are those who view this as the 'paacea' to the priest shortage. It is evident from what I have posted above, that it is not.

even though I was an outsider it was a very beautiful service.

The Maronite Divine Liturgy is reverent and beautiful, as you have experienced. It is important that you return 2 more times to that service. On my first visit, I felt disoriented. All of the elements of the Mass were there but in different juxtapositions. It is one of the few Catholic services where the Sign of Peace is done in a reverent manner. In our parish, two children approach the altar to receive the "peace" from the priest. They in turn "carry it" to the first person in each pew. And to hear the words of consecration chanted in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, the Blessed Mother and the Apostles, is like being at the Last Supper.

The Maronite priests are schooled in the traditional manner and approach their priestly service most seriously and with great devotion. They are also well educated. Our pastor is multi lingual - he speaks 8 languages and can read the ancient ones of Hebrew, Koine Greek, Latin and Aramaic. Be sure to go this Sunday as we celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Unlike the Latin Church that views this one event as a movable feast, for us, it is a season that lasts for several weeks.

May God bless you both on your journey!

[Kolokotronis]

“I heard the priest, who was saying mass, was headed to Lebanon to get msrried.”

You were misinformed. No particular church within The Church allows priests to marry. All but the Latin Church allow married men to become priests. The Maronite priest who prayed the Liturgy you were at cannot get married as he has already been ordained.

[sionnsar]

there are an increasing number of Anglican and Episcopal breakaway churches. To date, there are nearly 100 independent Anglican denominations.

Word of warning -- there may be a big numbers game being played here. If one considers the traditionally national nature of Anglican churches, there could likely be 100 around the world. IF, however, he's talking about the splintering of the North American churches the unstated implication that they are all equivalent is not a serious representation of the situation.

In my last tally a few years ago there were about 13 major groups (there had been 14 but one had merged into another). Of the largest:
- APCK, ACC and UECNA are in a state of declared communion
- APA and REC have been unifying, though I am not up to date on progress
- DoHC and possibly others have joined TAC, wishing to join with Rome
- AMiA is not breakaway but is a mission from Africa
- Other groups are joining via CANA, ACN, etc. (I have not kept up to date on these)

My last tally showed 33 other U.S. organizations, which for the most part are single-parish jurisdictions mostly always with their very own archbishop in residence. That number could easily have grown but that the nature of these churches might have also changed is improbable -- they're not likely viable in the long run.

[sionnsar]

Thanks to NYer for the ping.

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[AnAmericanMother]

I'm sorry that the Pastoral Provision didn't really take off and fly. There are a couple of reasons, I think.

1. There are not THAT many Episcopalians. Only around 2 million officially, and the actual number is much lower because they seriously fudge their numbers to "prove" that the homosexual controversy didn't cost them a HUGE membership loss (they are still counting us as members even though we left in 2003 and joined the Catholic Church in 2004, because you cannot transfer your letters out of ECUSA to another church or to no church at all. It's like a lobster pot.) Average Sunday attendance is much lower than the "official" numbers.

2. Of those folks who are actually churchgoing Episcopalians, only those towards the "high church" end of the scale are inclined towards the Catholic Church. I don't know the numbers nationwide, but our former diocese is traditionally "low" (protestant/evangelical). Only 3-4 parishes here in North Georgia could be described as "high". The rest of the Episcopalians here have no interest in becoming Catholic, they're liturgically and doctrinally too far away.

3. Many Episcopalians do not remember the old '28 prayer book which contained the beautiful measured 16th c. prose of Abp. Cranmer. It was revised in the 70s and "Rite II" has the same dull flat Newspeak English as the pedestrian (and at times inaccurate) Catholic translation. You don't miss what you never had.

4. When GC 2003 happened it was quite sudden, and orthodox Episcopalians needed a place to go right away. The slow and deliberative process of getting an AU parish formed was just too slow under the circumstances.

All these things keep the numbers down. Also, we love our parish, it's a wonderful group of priests and laity. Even if an Anglican Use parish sprang full blown from the brow of Archbishop Cranmer tomorrow I don't think we'd switch. I love the Latin Mass, but we don't go to the local Latin Mass parish either (and we DO chant the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin every first Sunday, and rumors are that our younger priests are getting training for the Extraordinary Rite.)

[sionnsar]

Word of warning -- there may be a big numbers game being played here.

And I am NOT suggesting Fr. Longenecker is the one doing it, just that he might not have been given complete information and/or that somebody didn't research carefully enough.

When I did my tally, years ago, I tried really hard to estimate the size of the jurisdictions, based on their web presence. (I know...) Digging in, I was shocked at the number that were clearly single-parish, sometimes even operating out of the archbishop's home.

[AnAmericanMother]

Whatever happened to Forward in Faith North America?

The priest I knew who was involved in that organization left his local high-church parish to be chaplain of a convent in Maryland. The nuns decided to Go Over to Rome, and he went with them.

[AnAmericanMother]

There was an Anglican Use Laity group here in Atlanta operating out of somebody's living room.*

I have NO idea what happened to it.

*I almost said garage, because when Button Gwinnett's bones were unearthed from Colonial Cemetery in Savannah, people said of the guy who found them, "He's got the bones in his garage, and he won't let anybody see them." The guy in question replied, "They're not in my garage, they're in my guest bedroom, and nobody ever ASKED to see them."

[sockmonkey]

Imagine my delight when I clicked on this thread and saw a pic of my Parish, Our Lady of the Atonement, at the top of the article.
woot! woot!

[sionnsar]

I assume FiFNA still exists, but the priest who was our tie left 4-1/2 years ago for DoHC and I haven't kept up. I don't remember how many years ago it was I had to take a Lenten break from reporting on everything Episcopalian&Anglican, but I was never able to go back.

I am happy in our little Anglican garden here. The first generation born in our parish are off to college, and there's more behind them all the way down to the one who hasn't quite arrived yet.

[sionnsar]

Thank you for identifying it! I was wondering...

[Radl]

I am sorry but I answered your question but apparently failed to send it correctly. Let me say quickly that I was under the impession that the guy who said the mass was returning to Lebanon to get married but perhaps they were talking about the priest who was visiting and I got it wrong. WhatI am certain though is that one of them was indeed getting marriec and I am certain he would not be allowed to return to the U.S. to say mass. I am not of this denomination, so maybe I got it all wrong.

[Radl]

I am sorry but I answered your question but apparently failed to send it correctly. Let me say quickly that I was under the impession that the guy who said the mass was returning to Lebanon to get married but perhaps they were talking about the priest who was visiting and I got it wrong. WhatI am certain though is that one of them was indeed getting marriec and I am certain he would not be allowed to return to the U.S. to say mass. I am not of this denomination, so maybe I got it all wrong.

[narses]

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[AnAmericanMother]

I’m glad you’ve found a safe harbor. We have too.

[Kolokotronis]

“...perhaps they were talking about the priest who was visiting and I got it wrong.”

As I said, no particular church within The Church allows priests to get married after they are ordained, even ordained to the diaconate. Perhaps they were speaking of a seminarian. The visiting priest cannot get married. No priest can.